Tourism Minister Harin Fernando and Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkkara have filed petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s (SJB) decision to expel them from party membership.
The two Ministers are seeking a declaration that they have not ceased to be Members of Parliament and that they continue to be and shall remain Members of Parliament.
The petitioners maintained that they took over the Ministry portfolios upon many requests by members of the General Public who were desperate to see a solution to the eroding situation due to the economic crisis and in keeping with the provisions of the Constitution of the SJB.
The petitioners have named SJB, SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara, its Chairman Sajith Premadasa, the Secretary General of Parliament, the Chairman of the Election Commission, members of the Election Commission, and several others as respondents.
The petitioners stated that the party’s decision to expel them from party membership was unlawful and contrary to natural justice.
